#isafyw12 – Cool heads and steely nerves were among the vital attributes required to achieve ultimate success as the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth World Sailing Championships finished on Dublin Bay in Ireland.

Across the eight different classes the finale was marked by light, conflicting breezes with at least as many title upsets unfolding through the day as there were expected winning scenarios playing out on cue.

In the evenly balanced 420 Boys class a hard earned final race victory by Barcelona's twin brothers David and Alex Charles won them the title, complementing the gold medal in the 29er skiff class which was secured on Thursday by club mates Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel.

The Charles brothers went into the last race in third, considering themselves outsiders for the gold medal, but they were able to capitalise on their own great start whilst their nearest rivals, the French pair which have lead most of the regatta – Guillaume Pirouelle and Valentin Sipan - tussled in the depth of the fleet with the Netherlands Pieter Goedhart and Lars Van Steklenborg

"We have been consistent in very difficult conditions and that has made the difference." Concluded Alex Charles.

While the two pairs of Spanish gold medallists celebrated together, all good friends who started out in Optimists together at the same club some 20kms up the coast from the Catalan capital, there was a tough measure of heartache for the USA's Mitchell Kiss in the Laser Radial Boys class.

Just as the French duo had been arithmetical favourites to win the 420, so Kiss had this morning looked poised to deliver in the Boys Radial fleet.

But, with a BFD disqualification as his discard result, Kiss ultimately fell prey to Australia's Mark Spearman who held his nerve and corralled the class leader to the back of the fleet on the first leg.

There was no way of breaking free for the unfortunate American sailor who crossed the line 52nd with the Perth WA sailor one place ahead.

That being Spearman's discard race he secured Australia's only gold medal of the championships.

"My worse race was 17th so I was always going out to do what I did. We stayed on a knock for ages and when we tacked back and from there we were last and second last.

It is part of racing to do that. I was able to do that because I had sailed consistently in the rest of the regatta." Said Spearman, "It is an inspiration to see the form of Tom Slingsby and Tom Burton at the moment, but they are people I want to beat in the future. You have to get to that level. It is a long road but this is a stepping stone. Everyone else has had good and bad races, I have been consistent, sailing safely with less risk, starting one third from either end and tacking on the right shifts."

The most emotional moments of the regatta came fittingly when Dublin's 16 year old Finn Lynch was carried shoulder high from his native waters, still in his Laser Radial, after sailing to silver, the best ever ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships finish for the host nation which has delivered a truly memorable, perfectly executed regatta.

In the Laser Radial girls class Gothenburg's Julia Carlsson was the absolute model of consistency, only one finishing outside the top 10. The quietly spoken, cool Swede finished with a 1,2,2,3 to wrap up her nation's first ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships medal since 2006.

"I sailed the best I ever sailed when I needed to. I was really nervous all the way through the race today. Tactically I feel like I have sailed well." Carlsson said.

The Great Britain team's haul of two gold medals and one bronze contribute substantially to their wresting the Nations Trophy, breaking the French monopoly on the team award for the first time since 2008.

Whilst Britain's SL16 catamaran winners Rupert White and Tom Britz had done enough by Thursday to win overall, in the RS:X Girls their compatriot Saskia Sills did what she needed to today to clinch her first world title at just her second ever international RS:X race series.

After bronze at the RS:X Youth Europeans earlier in the month, Sills came back from a nervous wobble in the penultimate race of the series, to win the title with a second place, finishing just behind Israel's silver medal winner Naomi Cohen.

" I am so chuffed, I can't believe it." Smiled Sills who only started in the RS:X late last year, " I have not been on the water as much as I would have liked for the last three months because I have had exams, and so I have just been working hard in the gym. I did not expect to even medal. My first RS:X international event was only last week."

" We have had videos from the Olympic team, Nick Dempsey and Paul Goodison, and all the support team around us have been encouraging us to start this Olympic summer with medals and here we are."

Sills has been largely dominant in the girls' RS:X fleet with four wins and three second places in her scoreline but Italian Mattia Camboni was relatively unknown to Korea's double Youth Worlds medallist Wonwoo Cho.

Though the Italian sailor returned ashore with a silver, it was a bittersweet result for him.

He needed only to beat the Korean today to steal the overall title from the RS:X sailor who has a gold from Zadar, Croatia last year and silver from 2010 in Istanbul.

Camboni was duly on target to do just that, with Cho well behind, until the first attempt at a race was abandoned due to a big windshift.

When Race 12 ran its full course, Cho finished third while Camboni could only manage fifth after a bad start.

"The first race was so shifty I went the wrong way and was very bad. I thought I had lost the title. But it was cancelled. But I cleared my mind. My mind is strong and I used my anger to get a good start. The second race was much lighter and that is what I like. This is the most difficult, more difficult than last year. I did not know the Italian guy but he is a great sailor. I can't believe I have won again." Said Cho.

The Italian girls Ilana Paternoster and Benedetta Disale, from Genoa, held on to their consistent scoreline in the difficult conditions to land the Girls 420 title. Australia's Carrie Smith and Ella Clark struggled in the early part of the difficult final race and took silver ahead of Britain's Annabel Vose and Kirstie Irwin in bronze.

"We cannot believe we are world champions, maybe this evening or tomorrow it will sink in. We never even expected to get in the top five, far less win. But we have worked hard for it. We could look back and see where the Australians were and knew we could do it." Said Paternoster.

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

FINAL OVERALL RESULTS

Laser Radial (Boys)

1st - Mark Spearman (AUS) 125pts 2nd - Finn Lynch (IRL) 134pts 3rd - Herman Tomasgaard (NOR) 145pts

Laser Radial (Girls)

1st - Julia Carlasson (SWE) 58pts 2nd - Line Flemhost (NOR) 76pts 3rd- Cecilia Zorzi (ITA) 99pts

420 (Boys)

1st – David Charles/Alex Charles(ESP) 61pts 2nd - Guillaume Pirouelle/Valentin Sipan (FRA) 65pts 3rd - Pieter Goedhart/Lars Van Stekelenborg (NED) 66pts

420 (Girls)

1st - Ilaria Paternoster/Benedetta Disalle (ITA) 44pts 2nd - Carrie Smith/Ella Clark (AUS) 51pts 3rd- Annabel Vose/Kirstie Urwin (GBR) 57pts

29ers

1st - Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel (ESP) 21pts 2nd – Lucal Rual/Thomas Biton (FRA) 38pts 3rd – Klaus Lange/Mateo Majdalani(ARG) 47pts

SL16 Catamaran

1st –Rupert White/Tom Britz (GBR) 20pts 2nd - Paul Darmanin/Lucy Copeland (AUS) 40pts 3rd - Martin Manzoil Lowy/Kim Vidal (BRA) 42pts.

RSX Boys

1st – Wonwood Cho (KOR) 32pts 2nd- Matta Camboni ( ITA) 34pts 3rd - Maxime Labat (FRA) 67pts

RSX Girls

1st - Saskia Sills (GBR) 30pts 2nd - Naomi Cohen (ISR) 42pts 3rd - Veronic Fanciulli (ITA) 58pts

Nation's Medals for Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship 2012

Spain: Gold in the 29ers class; gold in the 420 boys class;

Great Britain: Bronze in the 420 girls class; gold in the SL16 class; gold in the RSX girls class.

France: Silver in the 420 boys class; silver in the 29er class; bronze in the RSX boys class.

The Netherlands: Bronze in the 420 boys class.

Italy: Gold in the 420 girls class; bronze in the laser radial girls class; bronze in the RSX girls class; silver in the RSX boys class.

Austrailia: Silver in the 420 girls class; silver in the SL16 class; gold in the laser radial boys class.

Argentina: Bronze in the 29er class.

Brazil: Bronze in the SL16 class.

Ireland: Silver in the boys laser radial class.

Norway: Bronze in the laser radial boys class; silver in the laser radial girls class

Sweden: Gold in the laser radial girls class.

Israel: Silver in the RSX girls class.

Korea: Gold in the RSX boys class.

#isafyw12 – As they look to improve their overall positions Ireland's young sailors at the Four Star Pizza 2012 ISAF Youth World Sailing Championships in Dun Laoghaire were warned to stay away from the championships venue today, to switch off and enjoy the scheduled rest day which marks the midpoint of the regatta.

"They all need to consider that Wednesday is effectively a new start to the regatta, put behind them what has gone on for them so far, and concentrate on putting in their best performances and enjoy the event being in Dublin for what it is, not for what it can be for them." Explained Ireland's team leader Milan Vujansinovic, who has ten years of experience as one of Croatia's top Laser dinghy sailors. "In the main we have a very young team here who should be looking to their future rather than where they will finish."

At the regatta which has attracted 61 different nations to race on Dublin Bay, Finn Lynch, lying in eighth place in the Laser Radial class still represents Ireland's best chance of a medal.

"Finn is only 16 and so very young for this class still. He has five races to go and if he can average a top five in the final races, then he can still medal. He has that ability for sure. Everything is open. He has had bad luck in a couple of races and has always been having to come up through the fleet."

So too in the 420 Boys, the Royal Cork YC's Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts are also at the younger end of the under 19 age range, racing at their first major world championships together. In the 30 boat class they lie 17th after seven races.

"The boys are very young, 14 and 15, and they are not expected to make great results and so they are in the middle of the fleet, more or less. They can really improve a few places, but when the guys they are racing against are 17 or 18, that represents a big gap in terms of experience and physically."

The team leader who finished fourth in the Laser European championships last year and was ranked top 10 in the world emphasized, " From here they all need to look at it as the start of the regatta when they go back on the water Wednesday. Everybody is thinking like it is over and there are three days to go. It is very open."

True to their leaders advice, the Irish youngsters spent the afternoon bowling before eating early and maximizing their rest ahead of racing resuming tomorrow (Wednesday)

" It is very good for them to be getting this experience at this level, but really they are looking to years ahead, for example to be qualifying for the Olympics in and making results in 2020."

Ironically, Tuesday's rest day at the 2012 Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships saw moderate breezes and more pleasant temperatures. Racing continues Wednesday when winds are expected to build again.

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

Day THREE results (& overall points)

Laser Radial (Boys)

1st - Mitchell Kiss (USA) 47pts 2nd - Maxim Nikolaev (RUS) 49pts 3rd - Herman Tomasgaard (NOR) 50pts

Laser Radial (Girls)

1st - Line Flemhost (NOR) 38pts 2nd - Pinar Kaynar (TUR) 41pts 3rd- Julia Carlsson (SWE) 42pts

420 (Boys)

1st – Guillaume Pirouelle/Valentin Sipan (FRA) 18pts 2nd - Pieter Goedhart/Lars Van Stekelenborg (NED) 26pts 3rd - David Charles/Alex Charles (ESP) 38pts

420 (Girls)

1st - Carrie Smith/Ellie Clark (AUS) 20pts 2nd - Anabel Vose/Kirstie Urwin (GBR) 20pts 3rd- Ilaria Paternoster/Benedetta Disalle (ITA) 22pts

29ers

1st - Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel (ESP) 12pts 2nd – Lucal Rual/Thomas Biton (FRA) 13pts 3rd – Klaus Lange/Mateo Majdalani(ARG) 20pts

SL16 Catamaran

1st –Rupert White/Tom Britz (GBR) 8pts 2nd - Paul Darmanin/Lucy Copeland (AUS) 15pts 3rd - Henri Demesmaeker/Phillip Hendrickx (BEL) 17pts.

RSX Boys

1st – Wonwood Cho (KOR) 16pts 2nd- Matta Camboni ( ITA) 23pts 3rd - Kiran Badloe (NED) 30pts

RSX Girls

1st - Saskia Sills (GBR) 9pts 2nd - Anastasiya Valkevich (BLR) 22pts 3rd - Naomi Cohen (ISR) 27pts

Irish Team DAY 3 standings:

Radial Boys

8th - Finn Lynch (IRL) – 87pts

Radial Girls

16th - Sophie Murphy (IRL) – 91pts

420 Boys

17th - Patrick Crosbie/Grattan Roberts (IRL) 86pts

SL16 Boys

9th - Alexander Rumball/Rory McStay (IRL) - 53pts

29er Boys

12th - Sean Donnelly/Tadgh Donnelly (IRL) – 70pts

#isafyw12 – If conditions were challenging yesterday, they were even more so on day two of the Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Dun Laoghaire. A westerly to southwesterly breeze, blowing off the town was making the wind both shifty and gusty out on the water for the 343 potential future Olympians, who have congregated in the emerald isle from all four corners of the globe. One squall passed over the fleet measuring 25 knots. SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS  BY BOB BATEMAN

Despite the testing conditions on the water, today competitors in the eight classes all completed three races and having completed five races in total have now been able to discard their worst result.

Ireland's Finn Lynch had a challenging day in the Laser Radial Boy's fleet where at the end of day two he lies ninth of 58 boats. "I'm thinking that yesterday was easier, but it was pretty tricky both days so far - shifty and unpredictable," said Lynch, adding of his results: "It was not great, it could have been better, but it was okay." The 16-year-old from Carlow scored a 14-16-22, the final being his discard.

The big squall struck the 420 Men's fleet on the first beat of their second race bringing with it a huge shift in wind direction. "I couldn't do anything about it," said Lynch, who said that thankfully afterwards he had managed to claw back positions. "I think it's pretty good we've got all the races in. Its lots of fun - I'm enjoying it so far."

Despite the Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships being the number one event of the year for all sailors of 18 and under, because it is in his home port, Lynch says it feels "a bit odd." Normally when sailing at a major regatta he has to travel abroad. "It doesn't really feel like going to a World Championships, being just 40 minutes from my house."

In theory local Dun Laoghaire sailors competing at this event should be able to benefit from local knowledge, but Lynch says this has yet to benefit him. "There's advantages and disadvantages, but I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in this case. Today was so unpredictable but hopefully towards the end of the week it'll start to come good."

In the Laser Radial Girls, Sophie Murphy scored a 25-13-19 today, the first being her discard, leaving her 17th overall in the 42 boat fleet.

"The first race wasn't good at all. The second two races a little bit better, but it was just very tough conditions out there, really shifty, so it was very easy to gain or lose like 20 places just in one leg," said Murphy. "It was a really interesting day, consistency is what it was all about, so if anyone managed that, I'm sure they did very well." Norway's Line Flem Host continues to lead despite scoring an inconsistent 10-2-23 today.

Murphy agreed that conditions were harder today than yesterday, with the wind at times dropping to just 4 knots, but it was the squalls that proved most challenging. "You have to know which way it's going to go, because being on the right side of those shifts is really important." Local knowledge she said didn't help her with the wind but it did with her understanding of the tides on Dublin Bay.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week – racing concludes on Friday - Murphy said: "Every race I'll take as its own race. When you get into the competition you can worry less about the points."

Elsewhere in the SL16s, Alexander Rumball and Rory McStay scored a 10-15-7 and now lie 10th in the 15 boat fleet, a place behind Jordi Booth, son of double Olympic Tornado medallist Mitch.

Sean and Tadgh Donnelly in the 29er skiff, had a consistent 10-12-14 today, in a class where Spain's Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel are dominating, having won today's first two races and now on just five points after their discard.

In the 420 Men's class Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts had a disappointing day with a 20-17-16 score today leaving them 16th overall in the 30 boat fleet. "The first two races weren't good," said Roberts, adding that they had lost out on the first upwind legs. "In the first and second race, we got caught on the wrong side of a shift. The wind was up and down, it was never consistent."

Racing continues at 1200 tomorrow with two races, with conditions forecast to be stronger and even more gusty.

The 42nd International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth Sailing World Championship (AKA the Youth Olympics of sailing) is taking place from 13th – 21st July 2012. After a highly competitive bidding process, Ireland is honoured to have been chosen to host this much celebrated event which is renowned for providing the world with its first glimpse of future sailing stars and Olympians. 350 sailors aged 16 – 19 years of age, accompanied by 150 coaches, from 63 nations representing six continents are sail in ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. 250 boats across eight classes (including Laser Radials, 420s, SL16_s and 29ers) will be raced by these sailors.

The ISAF Youth World Sailing Championship was first held in Sweden in 1971, has taken place every year since and has earned itself a unique place in the international sailing calendar. This premium event is renowned for providing the world with its first glimpse of future sailing superstars. Fifteen of the sailors who won medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are past medalists at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. 2012 Irish Olympic Team member Annalise Murphy also came up through the ranks of the ISAF Youth Worlds when she competed in a Laser Radial in 2006 in Weymouth. Throughout its history, the ISAF Youth Worlds has visited over 20 nations, covering every continent, and over 100 different nations have competed. France is currently the most successful nation, winning the Volvo Trophy on a record 10 occasions and holding a record 62 medals: 20 Gold, 27 Silver and 15 Bronze. The Royal St. George Yacht Club, the National Yacht Club and the Royal Irish Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire have been appointed to host the championship in association the ISA (Irish Sailing Association.) There will also be a public festival of events in DL focused on next weekend (Friday 13th – Sunday 15th July) to complement the sailing Championship.

 

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

Day TWO results (& overall points)

Laser Radial (Boys)

1st - Mitchell Kiss (USA) 34pts 2nd - Marco Zani (ITA) 34pts 3rd - Mark Spearman (AUS) 39pts

Laser Radial (Girls)

1st - Line Flemhost (NOR) 15pts 2nd - Pinar Kaynar (TUR) 18pts 3rd- Agata Barwinska (POL) 21pts

420 (Boys)

1st – Guillaume Pirouelle/Valentin Sipan (FRA) 11pts 2nd - Pieter Goedhart/Lars Van Stekelenborg (NED) 22pts 3rd - David Charles/Alex Charles (ESP) 25pts

420 (Girls)

1st - Anabel Vose/Kirstie Urwin (GBR) 7pts 2nd - Carrie Smith/Ella Clark (AUS) 18pts 3rd- Ilaria Paternoster/Benedetta Disalle (ITA) 18 pts

29ers

1st - Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel (ESP) 5pts 2nd – Lucal Rual/Thomas Biton (FRA) 9pts 3rd – Quinn Wilson/Dane Wilson (USA) 14pts

SL16 Catamaran

1st – Rupert White/Tom Britz (GBR) 6pts 2nd - Paul Darmanin/Lucy Copeland (AUS) 10pts 3rd - Henri Demesmaeker/Phillip Hendrickx (BEL) 10pts.

RSX Boys

1st – Wonwood Cho (KOR) 9pts 2nd- Matta Camboni ( HKG) 10pts 3rd - Kieran Martin (GBR) 14pts

RSX Girls

1st - Saskia Sills (GBR) 5pts 2nd - Veronica Fanciulli (ITA) 13 pts 3rd - Anastasiya Valkevich (BLR) 17pts

#ISAF YOUTH WORLDS – Irish debutantes are off to an explosive start at the ISAF Youth World Championship on home waters this afternoon, with two Irish crews in the top five overall after the first two races of the week-long Dublin Bay series.

Royal Cork's Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts are third overall after two races in the Boys' 420 class, counting a 15th and second placing in their 30–boat fleet.

“It was pretty good - better than we expected,” said 15-year-old sailor Crosbie.

In today’s second race they had managed to get into second on the first upwind leg. “It is hard to tell,” Crosbie admitted of where he expected them to be at this early stage of the regatta. “We didn’t know a lot of the boats or what the level was. We are very happy today.”

The good news for the Irish youth sailing team continues with Dun Laoghaire's Finn Lynch posting fourth overall from 45 starters in the Laser Radial class, a second top class result for the host nation.

Conditions were ideal for the start of the championships off Dun Laoghaire with moderate north-westerly winds, if a little chilly.

The international event kicked off last night with an opening ceremony that has drawn 61 nations to Ireland for the 42nd staging of the world class event.

The balance of the three boat Irish team also took top ten results, except for the Dun Laoghaire based 29er boys Sean and Tadgh Donnelly who lie 11th from 24.

The buoyant Irish results bode well for the young Irish squad. Both Lynch and the Cork 420 pairing are making their international debut this week.

Previous ISAF Youth Worlds competitor Sophie Murphy, who hails from Strangford Lough, also got off to a strong start and lies tenth overall in a fleet of 42 in the Laser Radial Girls division.

Murphy said she was “happy enough with today. With the Youth Worlds the points are so high - last year if you averaged a tenth you would have won overall.”

But this early into the competition, she won’t speculate on the ultimate outcome.

“I'm literally going to take each race as it comes - there's no point not looking at the end result; I really don't want to jinx anything.”

Meanwile, Dublin Bay's Alexander Rumball and Rory McStay are 10th from 15 in the SL16 catamaran class.

“We did better in the first race," said Rumball of their performance. "The second race was really gusty and shifty, as all these gusts kept coming down. We got on the right side of one on the last beat of that race and it brought us up a load.”

The competition continues tomorrow, when more wind is forecast with 15-16 knots from the west. Full results from today are posted HERE.

#ISAF YOUTH WORLDS - Four years of hard graft by the Dublin Bay 2012 organisers comes to a head tomorrow with the start of the Four Star Pizza Youth Worlds, the 42nd ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.

Dun Laoghaire welcomes 350 sailors aged 14-19 years of age from 63 nations, plus their coaches and team leaders, for the annual highlight of the youth sailing calendar, known as the Youth Olympics of sailing, which begins tomorrow Saturday 14 July running till 21 July.

After a highly competitive bidding process, organisers in Dublin were honoured that Ireland was chosen to host this much celebrated event, which is renowned for providing the world with its first glimpse of future sailing stars and Olympians.

“We have been waiting four years for this, so it is really exciting,” says Brian Craig, chairman of the Dublin Bay 2012 organising committee. “Everyone is buzzed up - there is great enthusiasm among the sailors. It’s great. For us it is a chance of a lifetime to run an event like this.”

A five-boat Irish team will join the sailors competing in a total of eight classes, including the Laser Radial singlehander, the 420 doublehander, the RS:X windsurfer, the 29er skiff and the SL 16 multihull.

These classes are directly relevant to the Olympic Games, the 420 being the small version of the Olympic 470, the 29er being the same equivalent to the 49er and so on. This is no coincidence, as Craig explains.

“This is the pathway to the Olympics, so to get an event like that here in Ireland is superb for us. It is bringing all the top sailors here. For all our youth sailors around the country, they are going to see all these role models.”

In fact, some of the world’s top sailors are former Youth Worlds winners. Stu Bannatyne, recently arrived into Galway as a watch leader on CAMPER in the Volvo Ocean Race, won in 1989, while his skipper Dean Barker won in 1990.

Others include Tessa Parkinson, who won the 420 girls’ title in 2004 with Elise Rechichi before both graduated up to the 470, winning Olympic gold for Australia at Beijing 2008. Parkinson is in Dun Laoghaire as a coach for the Australian team. 

“There is a high correlation between people that win medals at the Youth Worlds who then go on and win Olympic medals,” she says “It definitely is a big platform. In Australia if you get a good result at youth level, you can get a position in the development squad for the Australian Sailing Team and it is a way to progress up through the Olympic classes.”

Parkinson has fond memories of Ireland as here she sailed her first ever international regatta in 2001. “This is a great venue for the Youth Worlds. The courses are so close to the club and everyone has been so friendly.”

An impressive aspect of the ISAF Youth Worlds is the number of sailors from overseas taking part, with 63 nations being represented in Dun Laoghaire - including some first timers such as Oman.

Moreovr, 25 sailors have been subsidised to be here by the ISAF’s Athlete Participation Programme. Among the nations supported are Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Ukraine.

Racing sets sail tomorrow for all eight classes, with two races scheduled for the start at 12pm.

The Royal St George Yacht Club, the National Yacht Club and the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire have been appointed to host the championship in association the Irish Sailing Association (ISA), and the weekend kicks off with a public celebration to complement the first races in the championship.

For further information visit www.isafyouthworlds.com and www.dublinbay2012.com.

#YOUTH SAILING – Ireland is set to add a catamaran sailing team to its ISAF Youth Worlds ticket for the first time when the event sets sail on home waters in two months time. The SL cat will join four others sailors who qualified at the Mitsubishi Youth Nationals in April.

Youth catamaran duo Alexander Rumball and Rory McStay from the Irish National Sailing Club in Dun Laoghaire are the latest additions to Ireland's Four Star ISAF Youth Squad following very successful showings in regattas in both the Spitfire and SL16 catamaran classes.

Dun Laoghaire sailors now fill three of the five slots on the Irish squad. The squad is: Laser Radial Boy: Finn Lynch (National YC), Laser Radial Girl: Sophie Murphy (Royal St George YC), 420 Boys: Patrick Crosbie & Grattan Roberts (Royal Cork YC) and 29er: Sean & Tadhg Donnelly (National YC).

Sailing a Spitfire cat the boys finished second with a 1,2,3 and OCS in light and shifty tidal conditions in the first regatta at Minnis Bay in the UK where the RYA squad were also competing.

Last week the SL Eurocat regatta in Carnac was cut short due to too much wind. The boys did very well and finished fifth SL of ISAF age. There was 20 SLs competing for ISAF honours, 30 SLs in total and a total fleet of 80 boats, a standard high enough to satisfy Irish team nomination.

#ISAYOUTHNATS – Four intense days of racing at the ISA Mitsubishi Youth National Championships on Dublin Bay out of Dun Laoghaire, involving 380 sailors across seven classes with 10 nations including GBR and Ireland, concluded today with world class racing.

This morning's racing started with all to play for in each class with some of the most exciting racing in the Laser Radial boys' class. All three top boats were within one point of each other going into the last race. ISA Academy Sailors Finn Lynch (IRL/ NYC) and Robbie Gilmore (IRL/ Strangford YC) punched the line well in the last race. Finn pulled in front and controlled the fleet well to win the last race and overall event ahead of Tomasgaard (NOR/ RNor YC) and Robbie Gilmore.

In the Laser Radial girls class, Sophie Murphy (IRL/ RStGYC) leapfrogged Georgina Povall (GBR/Hickling Broad SC) and Ellie Cumpsty (GBR/Chew Valley Lake SC) to take 'first girl' and secure her place on the Irish team for the Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Worlds this July.

In the 420 class, the French continued their dominance winning by 15 points and overall there was a tremendous international showing in this class. Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts (IRL/ RCYC) were the first Irish boat coming in at 8th place with 84 points and taking the Irish 420 slot for the Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Worlds this July.

In the Topper class where the sailors battled changeable conditions, Liam Glynn (IRL/ Ballyholme YC) takes the Topper title with a large 12 point lead ahead of William Thomas (GBR/ Teifi YC). Dougie Power (IRL/ WHYC) placed 3rd just two points off the GBR boat.

In the Laser 4.7 class, Erica Ruigrok (IRL/ Rush YC) was the top Irish with a 3rd overall and first girl overall.

In the Optimist Championship class after the final two races, Peter Fagan from the NYC took 1st and Michael O'Suilleabhain from Kinsale YC took 2nd.

Sailing: ISA Mitsubishi Youth National Championship 2012

OVERALL WINNERS

Laser Radial Class, after 11 races, inc 1 discard:

1 F Lynch (IRL/National YC) 43pts. 2 H Tomasgaard (NOR/ RNYC) 54 pts 3 R Gilmore (IRL/Strangford Lough YC) 50pts. Other top 10 Irish: 6 S Guilefoyle (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 109pts.

420 Class, after 11 races, inc 1 discard:

1 G Pirouelle/V Sipan (FRA/SNPH) 25pts, 2 J Poret/L Chevet

(FRA/SNPH) 40pts, 3 A Vose/ K Urwin (GBR/RLYC) 40pts. Leading Irish: 8 P Crosbie/G Roberts (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 84pts, 9 A Hyland/ B Staunton (IRL/ RStGYC) 87pts 12 R Dickson/S Waddilove (IRL/Howth YC) 105pts

RS Feva Class, after 8 races inc 1 discard:

1 C Totterdell/C Maguire (IRL/Royal St George) 10pts, 2 D Johnston/L Flynn-Byrne (IRL/Howth YC) 20pts, 3 J Tingle/C Guilfoyle (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 23pts

29er Class after 11 races inc 1 discard:

1 J Hawkins/C Thomas (GBR/Restronguet SC) 15pts, 2 T Rippey/A Munro (NZL/Tauranga YC) 18pts, 3 O Bowerman/M Peach (GBR/Hayling Island SC) 24pts

Topper Class after 8 races inc 1 discard:

1 L Glynn (IRL/Ballyholme YC) 17pts, 2 W Thomas (GBR/Teifi BC) 29pts, 3 D Power (IRL/WHSC) 31pts

Laser 4.7 Class after 8 races inc 1 discard:

1 M Whitfield (GBR/Penarth YC/CBYC) 15pts, 2 R Auger (FRA/CN Claouey) 20pts, 3 E Ruigrok (IRL/Rush SC) 63pts

Optimist Championship Class: after 8 races:

1 P Fagan (IRL/National YC) 7pts, 2 M O'Suillebhain (IRL/Kinsale YC) 9pts, 3 C Gorman (IRL/ NYC) 15pts

#ISAYOUTHNATS – A hard won victory in the third of today's three races just tips the balance in favour of Strangford Lough's Robbie Gilmore in a very hotly contested 68 boat Laser Radial fleet at the ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals Sailing Championship.

Racing on Dublin Bay out of Dun Laoghaire, the stakes for Gilmore extend higher than just vying for the Radials National title.

Selection for Ireland's Radial spot in July's Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships to be raced on these same race areas, amounts to a first-past the-post-battle at these four day championships and Gilmore arrived ashore this afternoon feeling that his fifth, second and win today may prove conclusive in what still looks to be a duel with long time rival and fellow ISA Academy sailor Finn Lynch.

The National YC's Lynch, championship leader this morning, could not match Gilmore as the conditions turned breezier. He returned 3,7,3 for the day to drop to third overall.

After two days of fickle sub-8 knots winds, the five classes which raced today enjoyed brisk, chilly NE'ly breezes of over 20kts accompanied by choppy seas.

Gilmore's slight speed edge, which he attributed to good fitness and concentrated training in today's weight of breeze, proved key as he stepped two points clear of Lynch.

He ties New Zealand's Andrew McKenzie at the top of the international fleet.

" It was pretty breezy, up to 20kts, but really nice sailing." Recalled Gilmore, " The first race I did not have a great one but got a fifth. The second race I was leading most of the way around but on the last leg the Norwegian sailor caught me. But the last race I won and so it really was a good day."

"I am feeling pretty good now. It was nice to feel like I had a little bit of a speed edge today, which is probably down to good fitness and training in that breeze, so it puts me in a good position for tomorrow when hopefully I will be able to finish things off. I was not particularly watching out for anyone today, just trying to keep on it in that breeze."

A competitor capsizes after racing yesterday in the choppy conditions

Lynch was less pleased with his three races:

" Nothing really went wrong or happened but I just did not sail as well as I could have. I sailed well, but I could have sailed better. My speed was really good but my tactics could have been a bit better, especially in the second race. But I will be back tomorrow, it is still very, very close."

The French duo of Guillaume Pirouelle and Valentin Sipan, from Le Havre, are primarly here on a training mission in advance of their trials series which will select for their Four Star Pizza ISAF Youth Worlds team, but they are proving to be the class act in the 26 boat international fleet. They lead the class comfortably after winning all three races today, but crew Sipan cautioned that their regatta is far from won yet.

"We have not won the regatta yet, we still need another good day, but today really set us up." He said, adding: " It is not decided yet whether we will be here in July, there are two weeks of trials. But we are the only French boys team who are here, along with the girls."

In the battle for Worlds selection among the Irish 420 crews, the odds moved in favour of Cork's reigning ISA Optimist Youth National Champion, Patrick Crosbie with crew Grattan Roberts. They improved race by race, scoring 7,6,5, to move up to sixth overall in the international fleet but crucially gaining themselves a 17pts cushion on their nearest selection rivals Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove of Howth YC.

"We were just concentrating on keeping clear air and following the gusts as much as possible. We are certainly better in the stronger breeze but so we are also grand in the light stuff. We only started sailing together in August last year and would love to do the Worlds here in the summer. I don't want to say how confident we are, not wanting to jinx anything. We have a friendly rivalry between us all, but for sure there is more pressure this year with the Worlds here, but I like to think we are rising to it." Said helm Crosbie.

After two more races in the 15 boat RS Feva class, the local duo Conor Totterdell and Conor Maguire effectively maintain their perfect scoreline by virtue of discarding their one second place, leading overall by four points.

Topper class leader Liam Glynn from Ballyholme YC has a virtually unbeatable lead after a first and second today, lying 16 points clear at the top of the 40 boat class, whilst Welsh helm Matt Whitfield from Penarth also took a first and second, leading overall by seven points.

In the 29er Class GBR's Jack Hawkins and Christopher Thomas have now won three back to back races in a small fleet which is primarily here to train for the worlds, both the British duo and New Zealand's Trent Rippey and Alex Munro already know that their worlds selection is secured:

Sailing: ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals 2012, standings after Day 3 of 4:

Laser Radial Class, after 8 races, inc 1 discard:

1 A McKenzie (NZL/Tamkai YC) 30pts, 2 R Gilmore (IRL/Strangford Lough YC) 30pts, 3 F Lynch (IRL/National YC) 30pts. Other top 10 Irish: 6 S Guilefoyle (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 68pts.

420 Class, after 8 races, inc 1 discard:

1 G Pirouelle/V Sipan (FRA/SNPH) 13pts, 2 N Horwitz/F Fuentes

(CHI/CNP) 20pts, 3 J Poret/L Chevet (FRA/SNPH) 28pts. Leading Irish: 6 P Crosbie/G Roberts (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 50pts, 10 R Dickson/S Waddilove (IRL/Howth YC) 67pts, 11 A Hyland/B Staunton (IRL/Royal St

George) 68pts.

RS Feva Class, after 5 races inc 1 discard:

1 C Totterdell/C Maguire (IRL/Royal St George) 4pts, 2 D Johnston/L Flynn-Byrne (IRL/Howth YC) 8pts, 3 J Tingle/C Guilfoyle (IRL/Royal Cork YC) 14pts

29er Class after 7 races inc 1 discard:

1 J Hawkins/C Thomas (GBR/Restronguet SC) 9pts, 2 T Rippey/A Munro (NZL/Tauranga YC) 10pts, 3 O Bowerman/M Peach (GBR/Hayling Island SC) 14pts,

Topper Class after 5 races inc 1 discard:

1 L Glynn (IRL/Ballyholme YC) 5pts, 2 N Hemeryck (IRL/National YC) 17pts, 3 W Thomas (GBR/Teifi BC) 17pts,

Laser 4.7 Class after 5 races inc 1 discard:

1 M Whitfield (GBR/Penarth YC/CBYC) 6pts, 2 R Auger (FRA/CN Claouey) 13pts, 3 M Hassett (IRL/Baltimore SC) 19pts

Optimist classes did not race today, standings as per yesterday

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